The Woods
The first appearance of metaphor in the book does not even wait for Chapter One. In fact, it cannot even wait for the second paragraph of the Prologue. A key metaphorical image brings the opening paragraph of the novel to an end with commentary on the meaning of the woods to the protagonist. They were:
"A peaceful oasis away from her mother's hardened gaze and her father's disdain."
The Gun
It has finally become painfully apparent to most of the civilized world what goes through the mind of a copy with a gun. But what is going on inside the cop that has grown dependent upon that gun reaches for it discovers it is not there?
"Instinctively, her free hand reached to her waist for her service weapon, but it wasn't there. Fear was a fist in her chest, squeezing her heart into her throat."
The Rocks
The story features an unusually high incidence of references to rocks and their formations. Part of the reason for this is topography. Part of the reason is geography: significant events take place at a location called Rockview. But there is more to it than that:
"Something about this sounded familiar to Josie, but there were strange rock formations all over the forests of Alcott Country--and beyond. They were like clouds; the more you looked at rocks, the more shapes you could identify."
The Fire
What does one do when locked behind a door. And that door is to a closet. And there is no real way of knowing what is going to be waiting on the other side of that door when it finally opens? How does one handle that?
"She imagined herself as a fire, starting out slow and growing until she lit up the whole room. When he opened the door she would burst—an explosion of grief, hate, and anger."
The Memories
Memories are constantly in play throughout this story. Characters are often portrayed as if time has momentarily frozen and in that moment they are only physically in the present. The rest of them is somewhere back in time. And those recollections are not necessarily of the warm, fuzzy nostalgic type:
"The memory hit her hard like a baseball bat across her shoulders."
